Tale Of No One Special
by Prodigy Of War
Summary: Naruto Is an orphan with no great gift, nothing that makes him destined for greatness. Watch Naruto make it through the Naruto Universe as purely on personality and determination.


The clock on the wall ticked on as if to remind him that he was too old to be sitting in a dusty old tower well after midnight.  
His bones ached and creaked with age he would have sworn he would never have earned if not for this thrice damned job.  
He had already retired once from this position that was sworn to kill him.  
It had been given to a man who had been far worthier than he even when he had been in his prime.  
Now here he was waiting for one of the living reminders of why he should never have taken up the job again to arrive.  
If only there had been someone else who would have been capable to do what only needed to be done, but should be done.  
It wasn't this child's fault that he had failed so critically in managing the crisis that made him take the mantle back up again.  
It wasn't this child's fault that people had done what people tend to do and assumed the worse about things they didn't understand.  
He was filled with remorse and guilt over what this child had gone through over the last thirteen years of his life, and what more he would have to go through the remainder of it.  
The child was on his way from the Forest of Death, where he had just had a life and death encounter with a traitor that should never have gotten as far as it did.  
One of his Chunin had to be evacuated to the hospital, but was in stable condition gratefully. If it wasn't for the child's crazy need to annoy his Anbu to no end,  
it could have been much, much worse of an outcome.  
Luckily the stealth and speed he had gained from the endless pranks he pulled and his hard head he had gained from god,  
he had gotten a very lucky first hit and knocked out the traitor while the man had been gloating.  
His Anbu had arrived minutes after, but every ninja knew life and death situations were resolved within seconds.  
They were lucky this time, but luck was an extremely fickle mistress that went through lovers like a shuriken through rice paper.  
Naruto needed to be informed of the truth of the situation before this got any further out of hand.  
There was a knock at his door, meaning that Naruto had arrived. "Send the boy in. We need to speak on grave matters."  
His Anbu slipped from his office silently, never allowing Naruto or his secretary to even know they had been there.  
No one could be present for this, this was an S-Rank discussion. "Naruto, how are you feeling?"

Naruto grinned and was almost bouncing as he got into his chair.  
"I'm a ninja now old man, and everything finally makes sense, this is great, I'm going to be the best ever and no one will stop me.  
You should just give me the Hat right now and be done with it."  
The Hokage motioned for Naruto to allow him to speak. "I'm afraid I need to correct some things you have been told tonight."  
Naruto could not sit still and interrupted him.  
"It's ok old man, I know im not the stupid fuzz butt so you don't have to worry about nothing, I'm going to keep it locked up forever and I will be the greatest Hokage ever."  
The Hokage waited for Naruto to take a breath and immediately broke in before the child could ramble any further.  
"What I'm about to discuss with you is an S-Rank secret punishable by death or life imprisonment if it is ever disclosed to anyone or discussed outside of this room with my permission.  
This is of great importance and you will be treated like a ninja and be subjected to those punishments if you fail to follow these orders. Do you understand Naruto?"  
Naruto gulped, finally sitting still in his chair. "Yes Hokage-Sama." The Hokage sighed leaning back in his chair, his hand going to his pipe; he would need it after this.  
"Naruto, you are not the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. The actual container is a closely guarded secret known only to myself and two other individuals."  
Naruto looked extremely confused "But then why do they hate me? This makes no sense!" The Hokage took a deep breath and began the long tale.  
"Naruto, on the night of the Kyuubi's attack, a large number of people lost their lives and there was destruction like this village has never seen.  
I'm afraid that due to this destruction, the logs stating just who your parents where and where they came from were lost.  
Though you were rescued from the rubble that was our civilian hospital and brought to Konoha Primary Hospital,  
you and the other orphaned infants were held in a intensive care room until we could try to sort through the wreckage, bury our dead,  
and start the process of returning all the children to their living relatives. The village council met a few days later and a great amount was discussed.  
One of the topics of conversation was about how the Jinchuriki had lost their parents and that funds would have to be set aside for their growth.  
You were the last infant still in the ward at that time, and the village council made the mistake in assuming you were the Jinchuriki.  
In my foolish arrogance, I allowed them to do so. I didn't think any harm would come to you, and it would allow me to hide the actual Jinchuriki while they were focused on you.  
One of the council members leaked the news to the civilian population, and one of the nurses took matters into her own hands.  
She took a scalpel and made the scars that have remained on your face ever since.  
It is due to this the entire village believes you are the container, and they see those marks as proof that the Kyuubi is able to influence you.  
When I announced what actually happened, some believed me, others did not. They believed that I had simply told the story as a bad attempt to keep your identity and the truth a secret.  
I could not reveal the actual identity of the container, and eventually the entire village agreed that you were the container, influenced by the kyuubi or not.  
I'm afraid your many pranks and general attitude, though understandable considering the villagers animosity, has only increased their belief that its influence is growing."  
Naruto struggled with this for a minute, perhaps the word choice had been too difficult for the young man.  
"But old man… if the kyuubi is sealed into someone, isn't it like sealing a kunai into a scroll? I can't stab someone with a scroll." The Hokage shook his head.  
"Yes, I've heard that one before… I'm afraid that also goes to show your lack of experience when it comes to sealing.  
You see, sealing doesn't just which something away into a pocket dimension.  
If that was the case every storage scroll in existence would have to be unique so as to not have everyone drawing from the same place,  
and to be honest we can't quite explain the science behind sealing. It is why seal masters are so rare, they learn from experience and intuition.  
Mastering the art of seals is a long series of guess work and frustrations. There is proof though that the more energy something has, the more complex the seal needs to be in order to hold it."

The Hokage took a music box that had been given to him and placed it in front of Naruto.  
If I gave you this music box and told you that it was just a normal music box and that their was nothing to fear from it, you may believe me.  
But the more I insist that their is nothing to fear, the more you think I am lying.  
Let u also say that you have heard tales of other music boxes randomly exploding and killing many people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  
How many times would you wind the music box I gave you before fear stopped you, before you hid it away, far from anyone you loved or cared for, just in case?  
We have many examples from many villages of the Biju breaking their seals or warping the minds of their containers.  
The seal the Fourth Hokage used has never been tested, in fact it was a secret he was even developing it known only to a few.  
People trust their Hokage enough not to riot over it, but no one wants to risk their children to the unknown."  
Naruto grimaced "But I've never hurt anyone, I mean I just wanted to be acknowledged." The Hokage sighed, wishing things were never this complicated.  
"I know Naruto, none of this is your fault, these are my failures you have to live with, and I would do anything to go back and prevent any of these mistakes from being repeated."  
Naruto looked at the music box, before picking it up and winding it. Asuma had given him the music box, it was a song his wife, Biwako had loved dearly,  
and would almost always be humming it when she was busy doing something that took her full attention.  
The Hokage missed that song very dearly. Naruto looked deep in thought. He suddenly leapt to his feet and banged his hand on the table.  
"SO WHAT?! THEY CAN THINK ALL THE STUPID STUFF THEY WANT! IM STILL GOING TO BE HOKAGE!"  
Sarutobi grinned a small smile. "I look forward to the day you earn this hat Naruto, do you have any other questions?" Naruto shook his head.  
"Then you are dismissed. Remember what I said about these secrets Naruto." Naruto hopped out of his chair and ran to the door.  
"See you later old man, you can't keep that hat from me forever!" And with that he threw the door open and stormed out.  
The Anbu slipped in behind him like ghosts that had never left in the first place.  
The Hokage placed the music box in his pocket and gathered himself before he stood up, his old bones demanding he sit right back down.  
Puffing on his pipe, he slowly made his way out of the tower and home. The village he loved had suffered for a long time under his mistake.  
The night was dead and the dark clouds blocked out the moon. Darkness had taken hold in the hearts of his people threatening to extinguish their will of fire.  
Sarutobi didn't have the strength or charisma he once did to fix this. The music box shifted in his pocket, the lid slightly coming open.  
The music spilled out onto the street and Sarutobi felt himself freeze as the song filled him with memories of Biwako. His wife had always been his source of inspiration.  
Ever since she had died, he had struggled to keep his fire alight. But as the song played, Sarutobi felt some sort of calm enter him.  
The clouds that had hung over the village seemed to clear up. Leaving the full moon to illuminate the village in the beauty it always had, but he sometimes had difficulty seeing.  
The night was peaceful with only the breeze blowing through the trees making any noise. Sarutobi felt his strength return to him, if only a little bit.  
Tomorrow would be another chance to get things right. As long as they were alive there was always a chance to make things right.


End file.
